This invention relates a method for controlling a plurality of electrical loads operated at the same time by a current source using a clocked or pulsed operating current.
Electrical loads are increasingly operated not with a constantly flowing current, but rather using a clocked or pulsed current, even if they are supplied from a DC source. Instead of regulation to a mean and largely constant current, a rapid changeover between on and off mode takes place, with the necessary electrical power being consumed by selecting the pulse duration as an average over time. On the one hand, this enables the power consumed to be matched to the requirements of the function served by the load, irrespective of the voltage currently provided by the supply side, and, on the other hand, it enables smooth regulation of an electric motor or of a lighting means, for example.
The significant spread of this technology in recent years can be attributed to the rapid development of electronic circuit components. By comparison with transistor-controlled circuits, there is a great advantage in the saving of energy (including little complexity for cooling the transistors), costs and installation space.
However, because of the rapid and frequent change between states with a high and a low flow of current (or none at all), pulse technology results in severe changes in the intensity of the flowing current, with steep rising edges for the current. Usually, the instant, the pulse duration and the timing ratio are defined on an individual basis by the component or the control unit associated therewith, without matching to other components being carried out. This means that current pulses and current changes for a plurality of components overlap unexpectedly.
Accordingly, it would be highly advantageous to provide a method for controlling loads operated using a clocked or pulsed operating current which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.
Thus, the invention includes a method for controlling a plurality of electrical loads operated at the same time by a current source using a clocked or pulsed operating current comprising: synchronizing instant and/or duration of pulse driving for the operating current of at least one load to operation of other loads; matching the loads to one another such that the sum of currents flowing to supply the loads is substantially a constant value; and minimizing both fluctuations and rates of change in the sum of the currents flowing to supply the loads.